Evidence of meeting #66 for Industry, Science and Technology in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was recycling.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON
Yes, we need fair trade.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Those are my questions, and I know my time.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Joël Lightbound
Thank you very much, Mr. Masse.
Next I have Mr. Williams for five minutes.
Conservative
Ryan Williams Conservative Bay of Quinte, ON
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I want to direct some questions to Ms. Seaman.
We've spent a lot of time talking about industry-led initiatives in the recycling economy. Can you tell me a little about how the plastics division of the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada supports that statement, or can you expand on that statement at all?
Vice President, Plastics Division, Chemistry Industry Association of Canada
We have a lot of industry-led initiatives, whether they be at a company level.... A lot of the drivers for change we've seen have been coming from consumer demand, so we have companies such as Polystyvert and Pyrowave, which I spoke about, that have said that they've heard that polystyrene is an issue and that they want to find a way to collect and recycle it. They've been working on that.
In fact, Quebec has a circular economy for polystyrene, which is why polystyrene will be added to their extended producer responsibility program in 2025.
We also have other projects and programs in place. We had an initiative that our members supported in London, Ontario, the Hefty EnergyBag. Unfortunately, because the end markets didn't develop as fast as we would have liked, that project did sunset and did not go beyond the pilot scale.
There are other initiatives. The Chemistry Industry Association of Canada was one of the founding members of the circular plastics task force, which is a consortium of organizations working on implementing, testing and piloting circular plastics projects for collection and recycling of flexibles. Think of your Saran wrap and stand-up pouches for packaging.
We have other initiatives. We have a collaboration that we're working with—
Conservative
Ryan Williams Conservative Bay of Quinte, ON
Thank you so much. I only have so much time.
I want to focus on what the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada is worth. I guess you can focus on the plastics division. How many jobs are there, and what is the GDP for Canada at this point?
Vice President, Plastics Division, Chemistry Industry Association of Canada
In my opening remarks, I mentioned that the plastics industry is a $28-billion resource. It adds $28 billion to the Canadian economy.
As for jobs, we directly support over 100,000 jobs in Canada.
Conservative
Ryan Williams Conservative Bay of Quinte, ON
Thank you.
What kind of support, either financially or policy-related, do you get from the federal government?
Vice President, Plastics Division, Chemistry Industry Association of Canada
We do engage with the federal government on a regular basis across all of the policies that they are bringing forward around a circular economy.
We've engaged on the recycle content minimums and—
Conservative
Vice President, Plastics Division, Chemistry Industry Association of Canada
CIAC itself does not directly get funding. Our members do work through ISED, the strategic innovation fund, as well as—
Conservative
Ryan Williams Conservative Bay of Quinte, ON
Thank you.
Just comparing to the Americans, do you know if the Americans fund or support the industry in the U.S.?
Vice President, Plastics Division, Chemistry Industry Association of Canada
They do. In fact, we heard the reference just a moment ago to the IRA in the U.S. We're actually finding a lot of the decisions from our members to invest, whether it be in Canada or the U.S.—
Conservative
Ryan Williams Conservative Bay of Quinte, ON
I'm so sorry. I have just so much time.
Can you tell me how much investment we've actually had in the chemical sector in Canada, in the plastics division, in Canada, in the last six years, versus what you think the Americans have had?
Vice President, Plastics Division, Chemistry Industry Association of Canada
That's a fantastic question. I would love to get back to you with the—
Conservative
Ryan Williams Conservative Bay of Quinte, ON
If you could submit that in writing, that would be great.
The point I'm getting to is that I think we really support industry-led initiatives and ensuring that if we're doing circular recycling, it comes from the industry and that recycling of plastics in Canada gets supported in that for other things that we've talked about earlier, like investment in Canada, international trade, jobs and GDP.
The big story is that when we go to the grocery store right now, plastic bags, for instance, have been banned provincially. That's the plastic bag your bread is wrapped in. Your jug of milk is in plastic and your sandwich is wrapped in plastic.
As my last question to you, can the plastic division of the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada actually do more with support to eliminate or circulate plastics, meaning that it's better for the environment, if there's more support from the federal government?
Vice President, Plastics Division, Chemistry Industry Association of Canada
Yes, there is absolutely more the industry can do to support a circular economy. We are eager to work with the federal government and provincial governments to see those policies and projects implemented and take place.
Liberal
Liberal
Tony Van Bynen Liberal Newmarket—Aurora, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to just clarify where the industry sits in terms of the life cycle of electronic waste.
You process materials that show up at your loading dock. Where does that come from?
Environment Manager, Copper North America and Philippines, Glencore Canada
We have two centres in the United States. They are recycling centres. They receive the material, prepare it, and then ship it to the Horne smelter.
Liberal
Tony Van Bynen Liberal Newmarket—Aurora, ON
Where do they receive that material from?
I'm just trying to find out.
Environment Manager, Copper North America and Philippines, Glencore Canada
It's mostly from the States.
Environment Manager, Copper North America and Philippines, Glencore Canada
You have the automotive shred that they receive. There's also some waste from other recycling sites for electronics and copper scraps. A big....
Head, Government Relations and Communications, Glencore Canada
One example is Intel. We have a centre in San José. We receive the circuit boards from Intel. What we can provide Intel is that we can track the destruction. The reason they go through us is that we can provide a certificate that what they give us is protected and the data that is hidden in the circuit board is protected.
It's another example of the service we provide.
Liberal
Tony Van Bynen Liberal Newmarket—Aurora, ON
Yes.
What I'm interested in knowing is the best way for the government to hold corporations accountable for the waste that they generate with their products or ensure that they are manufacturing products that are able to be reused or recycled.
I can't imagine that your industry would want to see a reduction in waste, because it takes your production stock away from you, but knowing what you see and what you receive, what can the government do to have people reduce the amount of waste that comes to you?